LA Lakers star Alex Caruso skips sister's wedding to stay in NBA bubble; JR happy to be playing with LeBron again

The LA Lakers' shooting guard Alex Caruso has chosen not to attend his older sister Megan's wedding in order to stay with the team and prepare for the restart of the season. Caruso was expected to attend the wedding on July 18th but reversed his plans at the eleventh hour.

He said that his ambitions to win the Championship were a higher priority. He spoke to Zach Lowe about his decision, saying:

"If I was on a team that didn’t have title aspirations — a team trying to hold on to the No. 8 seed or something — it might have been different. But we have worked too hard."

Bubble life: Alex Caruso had a decision to make last weekend: stay in the bubble, or attend his sister's 100-plus person wedding in Texas? He talked about his choice -- and the NBA's quarantine timetables -- with ESPN: https://t.co/aFHdBoAxvy

— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) July 22, 2020

Earlier, Caruso had received permission from LA Lakers' coach Frank Vogel and GM Rob Pelinka to attend the wedding. Caruso finally decided against going due to coronavirus concerns and the mandatory quarantine that he would have to undergo upon his return.

The LA Lakers are already without key players such as Avery Bradley, who chose not to join the team in Orlando, and Rajon Rondo, who broke his right thumb in practice. Caruso spoke about the support he got from teammates LeBron James and Anthony Davis, saying:

"They supported my decision either way. They also helped me realize how important I am to what we are trying to do here, now that [Avery Bradley] didn’t make it and [Rajon Rondo] hurt his hand. There is some added responsibility … They had my back. I felt genuine support from the organization."

Caruso has been averaging 5.4 points and 1.9 rebounds off the bench for the LA Lakers this season. While he has only played 18 minutes a game, that number will likely go up as the NBA season restarts.

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LA Lakers' J.R. Smith talks about his time in the NBA bubble

JR Smith is the newest addition to the LA Lakers' squad

The LA Lakers recently signed J.R. Smith and Dion Waiters to add depth and experience to their roster. The veteran guard has been to multiple NBA finals and was a part of the Cavaliers team, led by LeBron James, that won the title in 2016. When asked to describe how he felt about playing with LeBron again in one word, he said 'happy'.

Speaking about the rest of the team, J.R. added that Dion Waiters has been the funniest teammate on the LA Lakers' squad and that JaVale McGee is the best at trash talking, especially after blocking shots. Waiters was seen leading the team into a dance routine during practice.

Somebody asked me for Dion content. pic.twitter.com/6ORwyNozxS

— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) July 21, 2020

The LA Lakers will look forward to J.R. Smith's hustle and passion along with his experience as they begin their season. The LA Lakers take on the LA Clippers in their first game on July 30th.

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